Gaze Upon Green: A Springtime Basket How-To

There is nothing like breathing freshness into 'indoor air.' Try a Springtime Basket.

This faux nest makes the perfect woodland scene in my springtime basket appear all the more real. Click images below for pricing.

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There is nothing like breathing freshness into indoor air, so Gaze Upon Green and assemble a Springtime Basket.

While still living in New Jersey, I dealt with what could some years be described as hopeless and never ending winters. I coped by visiting greenhouses and nurseries all but financially stunted by the unrelenting snow and ice. It was the smell of fresh dirt I sought. Our senses can act as mighty altruists to our well being; this, I believe, is by design. Follow me, and Gaze Upon Green: A Springtime Basket How-To.

For me, my sense of smell is both friend and foe. The first lilacs to bloom in spring, or the essence of moist, unfrozen earth, promising to put forth life; friend. The waft of warm Croissants that have just left the oven...for me...foe! In my case, too many 'give-ins' every time I've smelled fresh baked goodies has me on an endless quest for lighter hips! Yet such is the POWER of this sense for me.

Visiting a greenhouse in the dead of winter provides me with a sense of life. The smell of dirt not frozen does a bunch for a gals mood.

A much loved destination of mine back in the day was Duke Gardens, the brainchild of Doris Duke, heiress to her father's fortune from American Tobacco Company. There, one could tour one of the most remarkable glass house collections of fauna in the entire of the United States.

It is recorded that Miss Duke created the eleven themes in honor of her father. And to get my sniff on, I could make an appointment for a tour, be added to the minimal guest list for that day, and motor down with a measly $5 in hand. No real planning or great price to speak of that would ultimately provide me just over an hour's worth of sensory rejuvenation.

Unfortunately, and due to the overwhelming cost of maintenance to the glass house, it was dismantled in 2008. Still, the 2,700 acre property still boasts environmental programming and exploration, and are open to the public year round except major holidays, and admission is free.

If you like the French style I am using, click these images for pricing and delivery details. I am partial to the matte gold in the center photo!

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Shift now to my living here in Charleston, South Carolina. Winter is still MIGHTY COLD, but generally without the snow and ice. I still visit greenhouses and nurseries to 'invite Spring' in my mind. I hasten the season and perk up my senses by creating Springtime blooming baskets.

How To Make A Springtime Basket

Again, I have picked up a small bunch of these trophy containers at yard sales and flea markets. I buy what inspires me. And, most important, I immediately outfit them with a clear plastic plant saucer.

FIRST, select a container you find inspiration in. Look around in your house, garage, and barns before rushing out to purchase. That old coal scuttle would make a unique container.

SECOND, I cut and crumple brown grocery bags over and over. They become pliable enough to snake around the inside bottom of the container I have chosen. This added layer will lend both support and height to my display.

This basket isn't pretty on its own; I lined with coconut fiber and a clear plastic saucer; crumpled up brown bags for "building."

If you enjoy putting arrangements together, please enjoy these Not Entirely Average posts. They highlight arrangements assembled using garage sale and flea market finds!

A Beautiful Fall Arrangement

A Simple Rose Arrangement

This season, I chose three unique containers to dazzle my home. I hit the big box stores for the 3" pots of whatever they had in bloom. I also searched for unique patterns and textures. Really, anything that screamed SPRING! I came home with many smallish, pretty plants. Everything from begonias, to hypoestes, miniature ferns, a dwarf hyacinth (amazing scent), and some daffodils.

THIRD, place your pots, after a thorough watering and draining, in and around your crumpled paper. Make sure to list or tilt them slightly outward as if 'growing' on a mound.

Moss can sometimes be tricky to find. Click the images below for pricing. I am using the middle "box of moss" because I am making multiple springtime baskets.

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LASTLY, once your pots are arranged and seem secure, embellish. Go in with whatever you've got that can be used as pretty filler. Here, I prefer green moss. A little goes a long way. Another design aspect I enjoy is to tuck in little bitties I've collected, again, from yard sales mainly. Moss-covered grapevine spheres, faux nesting bird eggs, faux bird nests, Easter anything, and paper butterflies make great tuck-ins.

Creating Springtime Baskets do not take much time to assemble. They make a huge impact on your senses as well as the air quality in your home.

Because I've lined my container with a saucer, watering from this point is easy. The paper bags will be thrown away after the display has passed its prime, so water lightly but whenever necessary.

Gaze Upon Green: A Springtime Basket How-To, originally published in July of 2018, is now updated January 2021.